Technology Tidbits

Three Great Sites Worth Exploring

Technology Tidbits

Three Great Sites Worth Exploring

Throughout the year I am going to create a quick newsletter that highlights great technology sites that are easy to use. Many of these will be taken from the American Association of School Librarians Best Websites for Teaching and Learning list. I would love to work with you in the classroom to use any of these sites! (Note: If you click on each title it will take you to each website so you can learn more.)

Do you have students that love learning random trivia? If so, Wonderopolis is the site for you! Wonderopolis features a different "Wonder of the Day" such as "Do your taste buds change?" or "How do you color glass?" Each Wonder of the Day includes a vocabulary list to support the information presented. There are links where more information can be obtained if you want to learn more about the subject. This is a great way to infuse informational text into the classroom. Wonderopolis has a widget that can be placed on a class website for students to easily access. It was chosen as a 2013 Best Website for Teaching and Learning.

Smore is another of the 2013 Best Websites for Teaching and Learning. This is a free online tool that can be used to quickly make newsletters, flyers, brochures, etc. You can easily upload videos or pictures or embed websites. Flyers you create can be public or private. You can print them or provide link so they can be accessed electronically. This is very user friendly and is a great way to create a professional looking newsletter with very little work.

Barefoot World Atlas is an interactive atlas that is available on our iPads. Students can choose an area in the world and can quickly explore that region. This is a great way for students to learn more about the areas you are studying or just to feed their curiosity and allow them to explore. The tutorial above does an outstanding job explaining the components of this powerful app and exactly what can be taught using it. This is one of the American Association for School Librarians 2013 Best Apps for Teaching and Learning.